The EMU basketball women received an at-large bid to the 2013 NCAA Division-III National Tournament, earning just the program’s second-ever trip the national tourney. The Royals, 21-6 overall, will play 23-4 Marymount (VA) Friday, March 1, 2013 in a first round game hosted by Christopher Newport University (CNU) in Newport News, Va.
The winner will take on either host CNU (26-2) or Guilford (23-4) on Saturday.
The Royals and Saints will play at 5 p.m. on Friday at the Freeman Center, preceding the CNU/Guilford contest at 7 p.m.
To purchase tickets, call the CNU Ticket Office at 757-594-7880. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Thursday, and until 5 p.m. on Friday. Phone purchases will require a credit card. Tickets are $8 for reserved (chairback) seats, $6 for general admission (bleachers) and $3 for students, senior citizens and faculty/staff (w/ ID). All reserved seats are $8 regardless of age. There will only be one session Friday night, so one ticket will get fans into both women’s games.
The winners of Friday night’s first round games will play Saturday evening at 7 p.m. That game follows a CNU men’s game at 4 p.m., where the Captains host Rutgers-Newark in an NCAA Tournament First Round contest. Saturday will be two separate sessions, so separate tickets would have to be purchased for the women’s game and men’s game.
Marymount is led by one of the nation’s top three-point shooters, Katelyn Fischer, who is hitting 43 percent of her tries from long range.
Top-seeded Eastern Mennonite lost to Guilford 61-59 in the ODAC Championship game on Sunday, but the national selection committee decided the women had done enough during the regular season, especially with their tough non-conference schedule, to earn a trip. The women were fifth in the South Region rankings at the end of the season, after going 17-3 against in-region opponents. EMU, 15-1 in the ODAC during the regular season, also had a program-best 14-game winning streak snapped by the Quakers in the title game.
The Royals’ only previous trip to the NCAA Tournament was after the 2003-04 season. They hosted a three-game bracket in Harrisonburg and beat Christopher Newport, 63-62, in the second round game. EMU then lost to Hardin-Simmons in the Sweet 16.
Live stats will be available for all games at CNU, as will live video webcasts.
Did we win the 5:30 game? I can’t seem to get the interactive thing to work.
Betty B
Betty,
EMU was defeated by Marymount, 55-42. Thanks for checking in and sorry the interactive link did not work.